Hospice houses can take some of the sting out of the death of a loved one with the gentle care they provide.

That care takes money, though, and a Duluth Hospice house has a car dealer to thank for some of its funds.

A little light hearted music goes a long way in lifting heavy hearts here at the Solvay House.

Solvay is a hospice house with a homey touch to help families with terminally ill loved ones in end times.

Pat Burns with the Miller Dwan Foundation says it is a space where they can gather in to celebrate and meditate and pray together.

The Solvay House, run by the Miller Dwan foundation, was built with donated funds.

"There is no state money or city money or health care dollars in the facility," says Burns.

The house is also run on private donations.

Artist Gary Lundquist of Great Lake Design donated money this past Christmas from sales of ornaments.

This spring, Mark Fitzpatrick, manager of Saturn Duluth will pitch in, too.
Mark, a Brainerd native was born into the car business.

Mark Fitzpatrick with Saturn of Duluth says, "My mom tells me the story that my first words were car in the garage. Whether it's true or not I don't know."

Fitzpatrick does know he wants to help the Solvay House so until the end of May, every test drive will earn the house money, "Anybody who wants to can come in and test drive any Saturn up to 20 miles and we'll donate one dollar each mile to Solvay House."

Mark and his employees feel good about giving back.

"We feel great about it. We want to be part of this community. Anybody can come up here to sell a car but we want to be here in 20 years and be a part of the community," says Fitzpatrick.

The test drive fundraiser is called "driven to care."

More information from Howie Hanson's blog: From now through May 31, area residents can participate in “Driven to Care” by test driving a Saturn vehicle. For every mile of the test drive, Saturn will donate $1 (up to $20 per participant) to Solvay Hospice House. Funds generated from this program will be used to provide patient care at Solvay Hospice House.

Saturn of Duluth is located at 4735 Mall Drive in Hermantown.

“This is a unique and generous offer from Saturn that will help us fulfill our long term obligation to hospice patients and Solvay Hospice House,” said Pat Burns, Foundation President. “The Miller-Dwan Foundation is committed to making sure that the care is always compassionate, comprehensive and available to everyone who needs it, regardless of their circumstances. This is a value shared by the people at Saturn and from this concern ‘Driven to Care’ emerged. Saturn’s commitment and the participation of our community will translate into support for patients.”